Vaccine financing gains support in PEPFAR bill

PATH and other members of the Global Health Technologies Coalition applaud the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for adopting an amendment that would accelerate access to new lifesaving vaccines in developing countries. The amendment is part of legislation to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), now called the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act.

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced the amendment on March 13, 2008. It supports advance market commitments to encourage development of new vaccines for poor countries and technical assistance for countries preparing to introduce new vaccines. Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) supported the amendment, which was included as part of the manager’s package. PATH encourages the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to include similar language in its manager’s package.

About advance market commitments

An advance market commitment (AMC) is an innovative financing mechanism designed to spur private investment in vaccines needed by poor countries. Donor countries commit to a pool of funds to attract manufacturers to develop the new vaccines. If a manufacturer meets the product specifications and countries choose their product, the AMC funds will close the gap between the price the poor countries can afford to pay and the costs of research and development and ramping up production facilities. After the AMC period, the manufacturers are legally obligated to supply the vaccines at a price the countries can sustainably afford. The Global Health Technologies Coalition is urging US support for future AMCs.

PATH serves as the secretariat for the Global Health Technologies Coalition, a group of nonprofit global health organizations advocating for increased resources and improved policies to accelerate access to lifesaving health technologies. To learn more about the coalition, contact Rachel Wilson atadvocacy@path.org. More information about the PEPFAR amendment is available in a press release from Senatory Kerry and a press release from Senator Lugar.